EPL Picks: Freedom to Read Canadian AuthorsLike this list

15 items

• The Book of Negroes

  Hill, Lawrence

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  This book about slavery in the 18th century won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in 2008. In 2011, photocopies of the cover of this book were burned in Amsterdam because of the title.

• The Wars

  Findley, Timothy

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  The story of a 19-year-old who enlists during the First World War, this book won the Governor General's Literary Award for English Fiction and was challenged for violence and sexual content.

• When Everything Feels like the Movies (Governor General's Literary Award winner, Children's Literature)

  Reid, Raziel

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  There was quite a bit of controversy when this book won the Governor General's Literary Award for children's literature - text and was a Canada Reads book. It depicts the experiences of a gay teenager in a small town. A group petitioned to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Jest of God

  Laurence, Margaret

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  A school trustee tried to remove this book about the unhappy life of an elementary schoolteacher in small-town Manitoba because he felt it would diminish the authority of teachers in the eyes of the students. It won the Governor General’s…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Who Is Frances Rain?

  Buffie, Margaret

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  A teen novel about a girl who can see ghosts when she puts on a pair of old glasses, this book won the 1988 Young Adult Fiction Award from the Canadian Library Association and was an American Library Association Notable Book. The author's…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Shepherd's Granddaughter

  Carter, Anne Laurel, 1953-

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  Jewish advocacy groups and a Toronto school trustee tried unsuccessfully to get this novel removed from a recommended reading list. It tells the story of a girl, her family, and their olive trees in Palestine.

• Lives of Girls and Women

  Munro, Alice

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  The story of a young girl's experience growing up in rural Ontario in the 1940s, this book was challenged due to offensive language.

• Barometer Rising

  MacLennan, Hugh, 1907-1990

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  The Manitoba School Trustees Association voted unanimously to try to remove this book, an exploration of life in Halifax during World War I and the Halifax explosion, from the high school curriculum due to vulgarity and offensive language.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Essex County

  Lemire, Jeff

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  A graphic novel exploring life (and death) in rural Ontario, this book was a Canada Reads nominee in 2011 and was challenged for offensive language.

• Snow Falling On Cedars

  Guterson, David

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  Winner of the 1995 PEN/Faulkner Award, this book a Japanese American who was charged with the murder of a fisherman in 1954 was made into an Oscar-nominated film. It was challenged due to sexual content.

• Betty

  The Helen Betty Osborne Story

  Robertson, David A.

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  This graphic novel about an Indigenous woman who was kidnapped and murdered, is intended for grades 9-12. It was placed on a Not Recommended list by Alberta Education as they felt the content was age-inappropriate.

• This One Summer

  Tamaki, Mariko

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  Winner of an Eisner Award, an Ignatz Award, a Printz Honor, a Caldecott Honour and the Governor General's Literary Award for children's literature – illustration, this graphic novel about two teens who become entangled in a crisis over a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Melody

  Story of a Nude Dancer

  Rancourt, Sylvie

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  This illustrated autobiography of an exotic dancer was labelled pornography by Family Circle magazine. The Toronto Morality Squad raided two comic stores and charged staff with possession and sale of obscene material.

• The Handmaid's Tale

  Atwood, Margaret, 1939-

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  Probably the most recognizable challenged Canadian book, it won the Governor General's Literary Award and was nominated for the Booker Prize. It has been adapted for film, stage, ballet, opera, TV and as a graphic novel. It was challenged…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Freedom to Read

  View on freedomtoread.ca

  Freedom of expression is a fundamental right of all Canadians, and freedom to read is part of that precious heritage.